


(there's no place like) home for the holidays.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: i have an obsession with fire and ice (aka all my john/bobby fics) [35]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Alternate Universe – Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe – No Powers, Awkward Conversations, Awkwardness, Boys Kissing, Christmas, Christmas Eve, December writing challenge, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Getting Together, Hoildays, Inspired by Music, Kissing, M/M, Male Friendship, Mistletoe, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Relationship(s), Secrets, Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21767734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: Oh there's no place like home for the holidays'Cause no matter how far away you roamWhen you pine for the sunshine of a friendly faceFor the holidays, you can't beat home sweet homeor:  John's parents have ditched him for Christmas so Bobby invites his friend to come with him to Boston.  But when Bobby tells his mother he's bringing John home with him, Madeline Drake takes things the wrong way, so Bobby has to somehow tell John that his entire family thinks they're dating.  John quietly decides this might be the right time to make his move.
Relationships: John Allerdyce & Bobby Drake, John Allerdyce/Bobby Drake
Series: i have an obsession with fire and ice (aka all my john/bobby fics) [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1202506
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15
Collections: December Writing Challenge - 2019





	(there's no place like) home for the holidays.

**Author's Note:**

> happy December from the artist formerly known as porcelainsimplicity. 'tis still me, just a different username.
> 
> Day 12 of my December writing challenge. Prompt by veronicabunchwrites on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Day 12 prompt: Your family ditches you for the holiday so I take you home with me, except my family thinks we're dating now and I don't know how to tell them that we're not.  
> Day 12 title song: (There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays (I prefer the Perry Como version.)

Bobby stared at John across the table for a moment. “They assigned you to write a column on the financial industry? You?”

“Ugh, I know,” John groaned. “Which is why I will be calling you often to make sure that I'm getting everything right.”

“That's fine, Johnny. Just don't credit me as a source. I don't think my boss would be too happy about that.”

“I won't, I promise,” John said, studying him for a moment. “You found a new job yet?”

“Stopped looking for the moment,” Bobby said, sighing. “Too much to deal with around the holidays.”

“I can understand that, but you better get on that after the New Year, Drake. You're too miserable to stay there for much longer.”

“I'm going to, don't worry. You ready to let someone read that novel yet?”

John sighed and ran his hands over his face. “No. And I'm never going to be either.”

“That's utterly ridiculous,” Bobby said, reaching for his drink. “If that novel is anything like what you let me read while we were in college, then it's extremely, extremely good.”

John stared down at what was left of his lunch before pushing the plate away. “You know how terrified I am to do that.”

“I know, but I also think that if you just sent it to one literary agent, it might at least be a start,” Bobby said, smiling at the waiter as he brought the check. He grabbed it before John could reach for it, shaking his head. “Nope.”

“Bobby, I can afford to buy us lunch.”

“And I can afford it more than you, so I'm buying lunch,” Bobby said, opening up the container, checking what the receipt said before putting a credit card into it and putting it back down on the table. “Consider it a Christmas treat.”

“I do not want to fucking talk about Christmas,” John said, sighing heavily. “I am going to have the worst Christmas imaginable.”

Bobby frowned. “I thought you'd already had the talk with your parents and that they were accepting.”

“I did,” John said, letting out a small laugh. “They fucking ditched me to go to Cancun.”

Bobby's eyes widened. “What?”

“I called Mom and asked her what time I should be there on Christmas Eve and she tells me that they've booked this fucking trip to Cancun. I hung up on her before I could hear too much more. She left me a voicemail with all the details the other day, but I'm refusing to call her back.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“Sleep all day, I guess. I don't have anywhere else to go, so it's just going to be me in my totally undecorated, completely empty apartment. Merry motherfucking Christmas to me.”

“You shouldn't be alone on Christmas,” Bobby said, and John laughed.

“Well, that's what I'm going to fucking be. I don't have a choice.”

“Come to Boston with me,” Bobby said before he could really think about it. “I know Mom won't mind if there's one more.”

“Seriously?” John asked after a moment.

“Yeah,” Bobby said, smiling at him. “I hate the idea of you being alone on Christmas when I can do something about it.”

John stared at Bobby, thought about how insanely attracted to him he was, thought about how he really wanted to make a move on him soon, and then thought that maybe this trip to Boston would be the time to do it. “You know what, Bobby? That sounds great. Much better than my empty apartment, and it will probably keep my mind off of my fucking parents in fucking Cancun.”

Bobby's smile turned into a grin. “Then I'll call Mom tonight and let her know that you're coming.”

“When are you going down? And how are you getting me on your flight?”

“I don't fly. I drive down on Christmas Eve morning. I'll swing by your place and pick you up, and then we'll hit the road.”

John felt himself smile for the first time in days. “That sounds great, Bobby. Just let me know what time to be ready and I will be.”

**********

Bobby listened to his mother go on and on about how she had finished perfecting the Christmas tree and it was ready to have a ton of presents underneath it before he finally got a word in edgewise. “Mom, I'm bringing someone home with me for Christmas, okay?”

Madeline Drake was silent on the other end of the line for a moment, and then she squealed. “Finally, my baby has someone to bring home and meet the family.”

Bobby's eyes widened and he tried to stammer out that John wasn't his boyfriend, but Madeline talked right over the top of her son. “Oh, there is so much to do now! We have to prepare for this! I have to go get to work. I love you, darling, and I'll see you on Christmas Eve.”

Bobby heard the phone click and he brought it down from his ear, staring at it for a few moments before tossing it to the side and running a hand through his hair. 

Well, fuck.

He took a deep breath and told himself that it was only the evening of the twenty-second. That meant he had an entire day to set his mother straight and let her know that John was most definitely not his boyfriend. He might be insanely attracted to his friend, but he valued their friendship entirely too much to try to turn it into something else, especially when he was sure that John wasn't going to feel the same way. So, no, John wasn't the boyfriend, and he never was going to be either.

Bobby stared at his phone for a moment and thought about calling his mother back immediately, but he decided against it. She probably would be talking about this so much that he really, really wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise this time. He'd just call in the morning and get this all fixed.

**********

Bobby picked John up on the morning of Christmas Eve, and he once he'd navigated his way out of the city streets and onto the interstate, he knew he was running out of time so he just had to say it. “So, um, I have to tell you something about the situation you're walking into.”

John looked over at him. “What possible situation could there be? It's just Christmas.”

“Well, yes, it's Christmas, but,” Bobby paused for a moment. “My mother may have mistaken who exactly you are.”

“Meaning?”

Bobby forced himself to breathe. “Meaning that she thinks you're my boyfriend. I've been trying to correct her but she is just so excited about this possibility that I haven't been able to get her to stop talking long enough for me to tell her the truth. I will correct her the second I get a chance to, but she's so excited about this that it might take a while.”

John watched him for a moment, thought about how much he'd love for that to really be the case, and spoke. “You've never brought anyone home before, have you?”

“No,” Bobby breathed out. “There's never been anyone worth it.”

“But you asked me to come with you.”

“Because I was going to tell her the story about how your parents ditched you, and she would completely understand why I invited you to come home with me because she doesn't think people should be alone for Christmas either, and then everything would be fine. But the minute I said I was bringing someone home with me, she jumped to this conclusion and I haven't been able to correct it.”

“So, she's really excited at the thought of you having someone to bring home.”

“Apparently so,” Bobby said, shaking his head. “If I'd known that she was that desperate for this situation to occur, then I would have gone about telling her that I was bringing you home in a different way. But I didn't, and now we have this situation, and I'm so, so sorry about it. I'll correct her the moment I get the chance. It just might take a while.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before John spoke again. “Don't correct her.”

Bobby glanced over at him in confusion. “What?”

“Don't correct her,” John said again. “I don't want to ruin anyone's Christmas, especially hers since she's being so nice to welcome me into her home, and if she's going to consider this to be a special holiday because you've finally brought someone home, then I'm going to make myself out to be the best prospective son-in-law that she will ever meet.”

Bobby swallowed hard at the thought of pretending to be in love with John. “You really don't have to do this, Johnny.”

“I know I don't. But it'll be fun,” John said, wanting to mention how much he'd love for this to be real but stopping himself before he could. “Besides, it'll be something that will take my mind off of my fucking parents in fucking Cancun, that's for sure.”

“You really, really don't have to do this.”

John looked over at Bobby, thinking about how fucking gorgeous his friend was for a moment. “Bobby, I know how important things like this are. It's a really big deal the first time you bring someone home to meet the parents. Let me do this for you. At least this will be with someone you actually like.”

“I'm afraid that this is just going to make things really weird between us.”

“It won't,” John murmured, thinking about how this might be his opportunity. “I promise.”

Bobby sat there for a moment before nodding. “Okay. We better come up with the story of our relationship then because I know Mom will want all the details.”

John grinned. “Then let's do that.”

**********

Bobby barely got the car into park before the front door opened and Madeline walked out of the house, heading straight towards them with a big smile on her face. Bobby immediately felt uncomfortable and turned to John to tell him that this was a big mistake, but John already had the door open and was climbing out. Bobby took a deep breath and did the same, and by the time he'd shut the car door, Madeline had John wrapped up in a big embrace.

“Oh, it is just so wonderful to meet you, John! I cannot wait to get to know more about you. Bobby has been so secretive about this relationship.”

Bobby went to speak but John just flashed him a smile that Bobby thought he could live for. “It is very nice to meet you, Mrs. Drake. Bobby speaks so highly of you and I'm glad to know that he has such a supportive family.”

Madeline beamed at him. “Oh, none of this Mrs. Drake stuff. It's Madeline.”

“If you say so, ma'am.”

Madeline's smile got wider. “Oh, a man with manners. This is so wonderful. How about you get your suitcases and follow me?”

Madeline stood there long enough for John to have gotten his suitcase from the trunk and then she wrapped her arm around his back, chauffeuring him into the house, Bobby trailing behind. Once they were inside, Bobby turned to go back out to the car to collect the gifts he'd brought, but Madeline stopped him and gave him a big hug. “You've got quite the looker,” she whispered into his ear. “I'm impressed.”

Bobby's level of discomfort deepened, and he wanted to call this charade off immediately, but Madeline wrapped her hand around John's elbow before he could, telling him that she would give him a tour of the house. John turned and gave Bobby another one of those smiles, but Bobby could only manage a weak one in return.

This was not going to go well.

**********

By the time that Bobby had finished unloading the car and caught up to where his mother and John were, his father had arrived home from the store and Madeline was in the process of introducing John to William Drake. Bobby sucked in a deep breath because he knew that if this was going to work, his father would be the tougher sell, but the exchange that followed the initial handshake somewhat surprised Bobby.

“I see you're a Patriots fan,” John said, noting the t-shirt that William was wearing.

“Massive one,” William said, grinning at him. “Are you a football fan?”

“Born and bred New York Giants fan,” John said, making William laugh. “I really did enjoy those two Super Bowls that you guys gave us.”

“Ugh, don't even get me started on those years,” William said, shaking his head. “The Giants? Really?”

“Unfortunately,” John laughed. “Trust me, I'd love to have a team as good as the Patriots right now. You've got the best coach and the best player in the history of the sport. I'd kill for something close to that at the moment.”

“Best player, hm?”

John nodded. “Tom Brady transcends the quarterback position. He's easily the best player in NFL history.”

William gave him a grin that told Bobby that he was sold. “Well, it's nice to know that you can at least acknowledge that, even if you're a Giants fan.”

John laughed. “Trust me, you guys won't be worrying about us any time soon. I think it'll be a while before we're in the playoffs again.”

“That young quarterback you've got isn't that bad,” William said, glancing up and seeing Bobby. “Bobby. Perfect. Come help me unload the groceries, please.”

“Of course, Dad,” Bobby said, and John gave him another of those smiles when he walked past him. Bobby didn't know what to make of it.

When they got into the garage and were alone, William turned to his son with a smile on his face. “You've done well.”

“Excuse me?” Bobby got out, his throat tight.

“John,” William said as though he should have known that. “It might have been a brief interaction, but I can already tell what you see in him. He's wonderful, Bobby. I just want you to know that you have my approval, and you clearly have your mother's as well.”

Bobby managed a weak smile. “Thank you.”

William put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and smiled. “Ah, nerves. I remember those. I knocked an entire pitcher of lemonade into your grandmother's lap the first time I brought Madeline home to meet them because I was so nervous.”

Bobby laughed fully at that. “Oh, I can only imagine Grandma's response.”

“Yes, it was quite the moment,” William said, reaching for bags in the trunk. “Now, come on. Let's get these unloaded so that we can go sit down and talk with your mother and your partner.”

William picked up the bags and headed into the house, while Bobby took a moment to think about the fact that his father had just referred to John as his partner before picking up bags and heading for the house. As he walked past, he saw John sitting on the sofa talking to his mother, and his level of discomfort came back up. He did think that it was nice that his parents actually liked John though. This would have been even more awkward if they hadn't.

**********

Ronny Drake showed up a couple of hours later just as Bobby was about to head into the kitchen to make himself a drink, and Madeline was up and introducing him to John before Bobby could even blink. He was pretty sure that he was supposed to be the one introducing John to people, but if his mother wanted to take that away and lessen the awkwardness for Bobby, then he was just going to let her. He took his time in the kitchen, pouring himself straight whiskey and downing two glasses before pouring another and heading back into the main room.

Ronny was sitting down talking with John, and it took Bobby about two seconds to realize they were debating the merits of the New York Rangers vs the Boston Bruins. Bobby hovered near the doorway into the kitchen while they talked, and the more that they spoke, the more Bobby became bewildered by John's knowledge of Boston sports. He was rattling off facts that Bobby didn't even know, and he fucking grew up there. When they came to the agreement that hockey players were incredible athletes because they can skate, control a puck, and play a tactical game all at the same time, Bobby sat down next to John and took a long sip of his drink. He could do this. He could totally do this.

John gave him another one of those smiles before excusing himself to get a drink of his own, and Ronny switched from the chair where he'd been sitting to the sofa next to Bobby. “Why the fuck have you hidden him away for so long? He's great.”

Bobby realized he was going to have to come up with an answer to that and sighed. “Well, I just...I didn't know what anyone...I...”

“Bobby, relax,” Ronny said, shoving him in the shoulder. “John will make an excellent brother-in-law.”

Bobby's eyes widened and he went to say something, but Ronny stood up and started walking away, calling out to his father. Bobby took a couple of deep breaths and then stood up, downing his glass and heading into the kitchen for another. He found John draining a glass of his own and walked up to him, nodding when John picked up the bottle and motioned towards him. 

“I'm so sorry,” he whispered as John poured them each another drink. “I didn't know it was going to be like this, and I'm so, so sorry.”

“Bobby, it's fine,” John whispered back before picking up his drink. “It's nice to feel wanted somewhere. Your parents care more about me right now than my parents do, that's for sure.”

“But Johnny...”

“Bobby,” John said a little more forcefully. “Everything is fine. Calm down and remember that you're in love with me.”

John picked up his drink and walked out of the kitchen before Bobby could say another thing. His discomfort level remained high.

**********

A couple of hours later, Bobby had relaxed enough to realize that John was selling their fake relationship really, really well. He had his arm around Bobby's back most of the time, but he'd shift it around to place his hand on his knee, and the more he did that and made his family laugh, the more Bobby wondered if John had ever done the meet the parents thing before. But he couldn't remember John ever having a relationship that serious, so he had no idea where this was coming from.

When Madeline started to ask Ronny about how college was going, John leaned over to Bobby and got as close to his ear as he could get. “Relax,” he whispered. “Your parents are going to pick up on it if you don't start acting like you're in love with me. Loosen up, baby. It's just me.”

Bobby swallowed hard at the term of endearment but nodded slightly as John moved away. When Madeline turned the conversation back to the subject of the two of them, Bobby smiled genuinely and leaned into John's side as they relayed the story that they had rehearsed in the car. Madeline laughed at all the right moments and William smiled at all the right points and Ronny shook his head and called Bobby a massive dork at the right moments. It was going fine.

But it was when Madeline got John to talk about his novel that Bobby realized that he wanted this to be for real. John kept turning and giving him that smile, and Bobby couldn't help but think about how he'd like to have had this happen naturally instead of being forced on John hours beforehand. Had this happen when they'd had an actual relationship story to relay. He'd known that he was insanely attracted to John for a very long time, but now he had no choice but to finally admit it to himself.

He wasn't just pretending to be in love with John. He was in love with John.

But he'd never thought that he would have wanted to go through all of this with John. He never thought that John was the one to bring home to meet his parents. But now that he was there and they were doing all of this, he realized that he was. John was the one for this. 

John might be the one period.

He had no idea what to do with this information.

***********

Madeline took the drinks out of everyone's hands and shooed them towards the stairs around ten p.m., telling them that Santa wouldn't come if they were still awake. John laughed as they made their way to the stairs. “You still like the Santa myth, hm?”

Madeline grinned at him. “It's a nice way to get everyone to bed early, but yes, I still like the myth. Even though it's something the boys no longer believe in, it's nice to keep the tradition alive.”

“I completely agree with that,” John said as they started up the stairs. “I still leave a plate of cookies out, mainly so my parents can eat them while they're putting presents out, and my mother still writes me a note back.”

Madeline smiled when they reached the top of the stairs. “I think that's a wonderful tradition. Something to pass down to your kids someday.”

Bobby nearly choked but John just gave him that smile again, so Bobby turned around to his mother. “Is the guest room ready?”

“Bobby,” Madeline said softly, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. “It's okay. I know that it's not necessary.”

Bobby's discomfort level rocketed up higher than it had been all day, but John just took Bobby's hand and pulled him down the hallway. “Come show me which room it is. I'm curious about what your childhood bedroom is like.”

Bobby stopped him at the right room, and as soon as they were inside and the door was shut, Bobby turned to John with apologetic eyes. “I am so, so sorry for all of this. I really am. I didn't know that you'd be subjected to all of this.”

John just smiled at him. “It's fine, Bobby. As I said earlier, it's nice to be wanted somewhere. It's kept me from thinking about my fucking parents in fucking Cancun too.”

Bobby watched as John turned his back to him, and Bobby went to apologize again when John spoke. “What side of the bed do you want?”

“I'll sleep on the floor.”

John toed his shoes off and turned to face him. “Drake, we've slept in the same bed before. It's fine.”

“We have?”

“That night we got really drunk at Jubilee's apartment after finals and then stumbled up the stairs to mine,” John said, shrugging. “I think you were supposed to sleep on the sofa but we both woke up in my bed later that morning.”

Bobby blinked a few times. “I don't remember that.”

“Well, I do,” John murmured. “And you can't sleep on the floor. What will your mother think when she inevitably comes in here to wake us up in the morning?”

Bobby sighed heavily when he realized that John was right because his mother always did that. “I sleep on the left,” he said quietly, which just made John give him another one of those smiles.

“I always sleep on the right, so that will never be a problem then,” John said, walking over to where his suitcase was. 

Bobby wasn't entirely sure what John meant by that. “Well, at least it won't be a problem for the next few days.”

Bobby thought about what John had said while John started rummaging around in his suitcase, concluding that it really was perfect that they slept on opposite sides of the bed. If they started sleeping in the same bed regularly then things would never be an issue. He shook himself out of those thoughts pretty quickly and turned to his own suitcase, searching through it for his pajamas. When he turned around after finding them, John was standing there in pajama bottoms but no shirt. 

“I never sleep with a shirt on,” John said. “I hope that's not a problem.”

“No,” Bobby got out, admiring how fucking gorgeous John was for a moment. “No problem.”

John headed towards the bed and Bobby quickly turned his back to it and changed into his pajamas. John was already in the bed when Bobby turned back around, and he walked over to it and cautiously got in next to him. John just smiled and said goodnight as Bobby turned the bedside lamp off, and once the room was dark, Bobby allowed himself to think about his discomfort level again. 

He didn't know how he was going to get any sleep that night.

**********

Bobby's eyes opened and he glanced over at the clock, noting that it was a little after two a.m. and realizing that meant that he did drift off for a while. He breathed a sigh of relief at having gotten some sleep that night, and then turned onto his side and stared at John. John was still sleeping, and it gave Bobby a chance to think about the events that had led to him sleeping in the same bed as his friend in his childhood bedroom on early Christmas morning. Why had he made that initial invitation?

He'd known how his mother would take this. He'd known it would turn into a big problem. Ever since John said they should move ahead with this charade, he'd known that he'd be on the phone with her in a week, letting her know that their fake relationship had come to an end because he couldn't live with this any longer than that. He'd known all of that.

So why had he allowed all of this to happen?

John woke up and smiled softly when he saw Bobby was watching him. “Morning, Drake.”

“I'm not sure it actually qualifies as morning yet,” Bobby said, glancing back at the clock. “It's only about two-thirty.”

“Well, that's technically morning,” John said, running his hands over his face. “What are you watching me for?”

“I was just thinking about everything that's happened in the last few hours,” Bobby said quietly. “And I was trying to figure out why I'd invited you here in the first place. I knew she'd take it this way. I'm so, so sorry for everything that you've already dealt with and that you're going to have to deal with over the next couple of days.”

“Bobby, seriously, it's fine.”

“Why?” Bobby found himself asking. “I have gotten myself into a situation with you that I don't know how to handle. I'm going to have to tell all of them in a week that this fake relationship of ours is over and I'm going to hate hurting them like that because they all love you, and I just don't know what to even think about the fact that I put us in this position to begin with.”

“Baby, stop worrying,” John said, looking over at him. “And maybe there's no need to tell them anything.”

“What?”

John stared at him for a moment before deciding to just do it. He reached out and pulled Bobby into a kiss, long and deep. Bobby could not believe what had just happened, but he dove in for another as soon as the first kiss broke, loving the feeling that spread through him when their lips were connected. They kept kissing each other until Bobby decided he really needed answers. He pulled back and stared at John with wide eyes, and John just shrugged. 

“You want to have dinner with me sometime next week?”

Bobby swallowed hard. “You mean like a date?”

“Yes, like a date,” John said, laughing. “What did you think I was asking you?”

Bobby forced himself to take a deep breath. “I'm not sure that would go very well.”

“The meet the parents bit is already over,” John said, smiling. “Things should go just fine.”

When a few moments went by and Bobby still hadn't answered him, John suddenly got very nervous. “If you don't want to, that's fine. Perfectly fine. I've just been thinking of making a move for a while, but if the answer is no, then the answer is no. It's fine.”

“No, it's just...” Bobby paused for a moment. “I was just sure that my feelings wouldn't be reciprocated.”

John reached out and caressed the side of his face. “Feelings, hm? Well, they are, baby. They most definitely are.”

Bobby grinned. “I will be very happy to go on a date with you, Johnny. It's something I've kind of wanted for a very long time.”

“I will come up with the perfect first date then.”

“Let me,” Bobby said quickly. “Payment for what you're doing for me this weekend.”

John stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Alright, you can plan the date.”

Bobby smiled at him and John reached out, pushing him onto his back and sliding on top of him. “I'd kind of really like to kiss you again, Drake.”

Bobby grinned. “I think that's a wonderful idea.”

**********

After they went through the ritual of opening presents on Christmas morning, Madeline bundled Bobby and John underneath some mistletoe that Bobby hadn't even noticed was hanging. He was incredibly embarrassed by his mother's actions and knew he'd be apologizing for that later, but John just gave him one of those smiles and pulled him into a kiss. As they kissed, all Bobby could think about was how glad he was that the kiss they were sharing wasn't their first because that would have been extremely awkward. When they broke apart, Bobby felt warmth spread through him at the way John was looking at him, and he couldn't stop himself from thinking that extending that invitation for Christmas might have been the best thing he'd ever done. 


End file.
